Council Communication Office of the City Manager	Date	June 9, 2008
	Agenda Item No. 48 Roll Call No. 08- Communication No. 08-360 Submitted by: Merrill Stanley, Deputy City Manager

AGENDA HEADING:

Approving the application for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program for the Blue Skyways Geographic Area.

SYNOPSIS:

Recommend approval of the submission of a grant application to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as prepared by City of Des Moines Fleet Services, for grant funding to retrofit diesel engines with particulate matter trapping devices to reduce the impact of emissions on the environment and technologies to reduce vehicle idling.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Amount: $250,000 grant revenue

Funding Source: There is no City match or cost-sharing requirement

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

EPA grant funding exists for diesel engine emissions reduction projects encompassed by the Blue Skyways Collaborative. Blue Skyways is a geographic area encompassed by EPA Regions 6 and 7 and includes the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Approximately $5,000,000 in funding is available with a $2,000,000 maximum and $250,000 minimum per grant designated for approved proposals. If awarded, the grant funds would be available, without the requirement of cost-sharing or matching funds, to retrofit the City’s existing fleet of diesel engines that do not have current emission technology of Diesel Particulate Filters that meet the 2007 clean emissions standards. These units are the older diesel engines that contribute to the particulate matter (soot) loading in the environment. Specifically, the City’s fleet of high daily use Automated Side Loading Refuse Trucks will be targeted for the technology upgrade. Additionally, multiple function year-round use dump trucks will have the soot trapping devices installed. At the minimum grant level of $250,000 it is anticipated that up to twenty (20) trucks could be included in the project. Remaining grant funds would be used to install technology on diesel engines to monitor and reduce idling. Engine idling consumes fuel and produces unnecessary emissions in the environment.

PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION(S): NONE

BOARD/COMMISSION ACTION(S): NONE

ANTICIPATED ACTIONS AND FUTURE COMMITMENTS:

If Fleet Services is awarded the grant, the City Council will be asked to approve acceptance of the grant and authorize the purchase and installation of clean burning and reduced idling technologies on City trucks with diesel engines.

For more information on this and other agenda items, please call the City Clerk’s Office at 515-283-4209 or visit the Clerk’s Office on the second floor of City Hall, 400 Robert D. Ray Drive. Council agendas are available to the public at the City Clerk’s Office on Thursday afternoon preceding Monday’s Council meeting. Citizens can also request to receive meeting notices and agendas by email by calling the Clerk’s Office or sending their request via email to cityclerk@dmgov.org.